The present invention relates to measuring equipment capable of measuring not only weight of vehicle or the like (in the Z-axial direction) and a force which moves an automobile under test within a wind tunnel, namely, a horizontal load (in the X-axial direction), but also a third component of a load in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the X-axial direction (Y-axial direction).
Measuring equipment using strain gauges instead of load cells is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,436. However, this conventional measuring equipment cannot measure simultaneously forces in two different directions perpendicular to each other in a horizontal plane, that is, in the X- and Y-directions.
Recently, it has become increasingly necessary to measure the vectors of a force, i.e., magnitudes in the X-, Y- and Z-directions, for measurement and control of forces in precision machine tools such as an NC milling cutter, robots and so forth.